GDT: New Jersey Devils Vs. Pittsburgh Penguins @ 7:30pm EST - 12/27

GAME DAY PREVIEW

Time: 7:30 PM ET
Venue: Mellon Arena
Home TV: FOX PITT



New Jersey
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/sml/trans/njd.gif
(18-6-8-1)

Vs.

Pittsburgh
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/sml/trans/pit.gif
(8-18-5-3)



PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Devils try to bounce back from a tough loss when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

New Jersey fell to 6-1-2-1 in its last 10 games with a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Friday. Both of the Devils' losses in that span have come against the Islanders.

Goaltender Martin Brodeur had an off-night and stopped 20 shots. The Devils rallied from a 3-0 deficit and salvaged one point on Jeff Friesen's equalizer in the third period before Brodeur was beaten by Mark Parrish in the extra session.

New Jersey is 4-1-1 in its last six road games.

Pittsburgh also needed overtime in its last contest, a 3-3 tie at Ottawa on Friday. The Penguins got an outstanding performance by Sebastien Caron, who made 41 saves.

2003-2004 SEASON SERIES
DATE LOC RESULT HI POINTS HI GOALS WINNING GOALIE
Oct. 24 at Pit NJD 2 PIT 1 2 tied with 2 3 tied with 1 Brodeur, 17 saves
Nov. 21 at Njd NJD 2 PIT 1 Elias 2 Elias 2 Brodeur, 18 saves

DATE LOC TIME AWAY TV HOME TV NAT TV
Dec. 27 at Pit 7:30 PM ET FOX PITT
Jan. 7 at Njd 7:30 PM ET FOX PITT FOX NY
Jan. 20 at Pit 7:30 PM ET FOX PITT
Mar. 17 at Njd 7:30 PM ET FOX PITT FOX NY



TEAM STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Key: New Jersey
Pittsburgh

Avg. Goals For
2.5 (13)
2.1 (24)

Avg. Goals Against
1.7 (1)
3.6 (30)

Avg. Shots For
29.2 (11)
22.6 (30)

Avg. Shots Against
23.9 (2)
34.7 (30)

Power Play Pct.
15.9 (12)
13.6 (25)

Penalty Kill Pct.
88.7 (1)
80.9 (27)


TEAM W L T OTL PTS HOME ROAD EAST WEST DIV
New Jersey 18 6 8 1 45 9-4-3-1 9-2-5-0 15-4-5-1 3-2-3-0 7-1-1-1
Pittsburgh 8 18 5 3 24 6-6-3-0 2-12-3-3 5-14-5-2 3-4-0-1 0-5-3-1

NEW JERSEY
5 Game Log
Date Opp. Score
Dec. 27 at Pittsburgh 7:30
Dec. 29 at NY Islanders 7:30
Jan. 1 at Washington 7:30
Jan. 3 at Nashville 7:30
Jan. 5 vs. Edmonton 7:30

PITTSBURGH
5 Game Log
Date Opp. Score
Dec. 27 vs. New Jersey 7:30
Dec. 29 vs. Chicago 7:30
Dec. 31 vs. NY Islanders 7:30
Jan. 1 at Nashville 7:30
Jan. 3 vs. NY Rangers 7:30

NEW JERSEY STATISTICS
Forwards G A Pts +/- PIM
P. Elias 10 17 27 8 10
S. Gomez 4 15 19 3 30
Defensemen G A Pts +/- PIM
Rafalski 4 15 19 11 8
Niedermayer 7 10 17 10 16
Goaltending W L T GAA SV%
M. Brodeur 18 7 7 1.69 .928

PITTSBURGH STATISTICS
Forwards G A Pts +/- PIM
R. Fata 10 7 17 -17 14
R. Malone 8 9 17 -13 28
Defensemen G A Pts +/- PIM
Tarnstrom 7 12 19 -13 14
Berehowsky 3 8 11 -9 36
Goaltending W L T GAA SV%
M. Fleury 4 10 2 3.20 .910

Aubin is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Devils, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Coach Eddie Olczyk confirmed Aubin's start, his first of the year, to the press yesterday.

Healthy scratches tonight:

Bicek, Albelin, Skrlac.

Devils get a 4 minute power play after Gomez takes a high stick to the face.

Pandolfo scores right before the PP expires. Jay went to the net after Madden fired one from the right wing lane.

Jay Pandolfo scores with 0:01 left on the PP! Whooo!

(Aside: With Aubin in net, I will cry if the Devils don't win.)

I think that's Pando's eight of the year, his season high is 14, see no reason why he can't break that.

Penalty Box Time Left
New Jersey B. Rafalski holding - 2 min 1:10

Scoring Summary
1st Period
New Jersey 9:36, Jay Pandolfo 7 (power play) (John Madden, Brian Gionta)

Shots on goal
NJ 10
PITT 8

Faceoffs
NJ 9
PITT 9

Power Plays
NJ 1 for 3
PITT 0 for 1

Scoring Chances
NJ 5
PITT 1

Shots on PP
NJ 5
PITT 0

Marshall, Madden, and Elias with 2 shots apiece.

Pens announcers were absolutely raving about the Devils through the whole first period just like they did last time I heard them. They were particularly blown away by the teams goals against and the fact that its a half goal lower then the next closest team which is Calgary. One of them said "You don't win the Stanley Cup for nothing" after some great Devils defensive plays and they pointed out NJ had scored the first goal in 7 straight games prior to the loss last night to the Isles. NJ is tough to score on in the first period.

No goal? No goal! Disallowed!

Berglund looks really rusty. His passing has been way off.

Poor Schwab. Everytime he plays this team barely manages any offense for him to relax with. This is just like last season - lol.

That gold and silver paint job on the side of Aubin's mask with the skyscrapers is pretty nice looking. Has that oil and water mix kind of look to it.

Pens announcer on Brian Gionta:

"Poor guy. Seems like everybody runs into him just to show they can make a check. He survives it all. The small guys are pretty tough. You know they have to be to play in this league."

Devils back on the PP. Koltsov in the box for high sticking Grant Marshall.

Whew! Back in time to see the rest of the game. Note to all: See "The Last Samurai" if at all possible.

Jeff Friesen scores right away on the PP. Elias was ready for the rebound. Aubin messed up and was caught sliding to the left of his net on the play.

Friesen scores #8 of the season and it's now 2-0!

And did Colin White actually win a fight?

Two posts on an empty net - LOL!!!!

Devils win it 2-0. Schwab with his first shutout of the year. Pens guys are really unbiased compared with some of the other broadcasters I hear on Center Ice games. They were giving it to Kolstov and Morozov pretty good all game long for icing the puck when one more stride would have prevented it and the like.

Devils win 2-0! Corey Schwab with 21 saves on 21 shots and picks up his 1st shutout this season. Game ends with Jeff Friesen and Grant Marshall hitting the posts on the empty net (UGH), but they did their job in the first and third periods and got the important goals.

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031228/capt.gjp10212280240.devils_penguins_gjp102.jpg

New Jersey Devils' Jay Pandolfo (20) beats Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Patrick Boileau (5) to score a first-period goal Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003, in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)


http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031228/capt.gjp10312280222.devils_penguins_gjp103.jpg

Pittsburgh Penguins' Rico Fata (9) trips over New Jersey Devils goalie Corey Schwab and can't get to the puck sitting in front of the goal during the second period Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003, in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)


http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031228/capt.gjp10112280151.devils_penguins_gjp101.jpg

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Josef Melichar (2) of the Czech Republic gets tangled with New Jersey Devils' Scott Gomez (23) along the boards during the first period Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003, in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Solid win for the Devils. :)


Oh, and what the Pens annoucer said about Gionta is true. Every game I see, everyones just running into him. Meanies. :mad:

"I will accept whatever role they have for me: one game every 10 or one game every 20. These guys obviously knew I wasn't feeling as comfortable as if I was playing all the time, and they did a good job of carrying the play and not allowing many shots.''

"I wanted to play him earlier, but he was hurt,'' Devils coach Pat Burns said. "It's the first time he's been healthy in a while, and he had a shutout. There's not much more you can say.''


From: h**p://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2003122716

Pens announcers were absolutely raving about the Devils through the whole first period just like they did last time I heard them. They were particularly blown away by the teams goals against and the fact that its a half goal lower then the next closest team which is Calgary. One of them said "You don't win the Stanley Cup for nothing" after some great Devils defensive plays and they pointed out NJ had scored the first goal in 7 straight games prior to the loss last night to the Isles. NJ is tough to score on in the first period.

Devs are on pace to allow only 133 goals against this season, well below the record of 165 ga during an 82 game season. Chicago has the modern-day record of 133 ga in 70 gp in 1953-'54.

Berglund looks really rusty. His passing has been way off.

Sounds like the last game he played against Philly before his hip injury, when he kept passing behind the skater. Gotta wonder if Bicek is going to challenge him for a spot when Langenbrunner comes back.

Anybody know if either Berglund or Bicek will have to clear waivers if they are sent down to Albany? Is Bicek exempt because he was unclaimed in the waiver draft?

If Skrlac is being sent down, does that mean Stevenson is close to returning, or is that just move just making room for Berglund's return?

Thanks.

Anybody know if either Berglund or Bicek will have to clear waivers if they are sent down to Albany? Is Bicek exempt because he was unclaimed in the waiver draft?

My understanding is that both Berglund and Bicek will need to clear waivers at this point to be sent down to Albany. Bicek was only exempt for 2 weeks after being unclaimed in the waiver draft.

If Skrlac is being sent down, does that mean Stevenson is close to returning, or is that just move just making room for Berglund's return?

Thanks.

Think it was just to clear room for Christian Berglund. I haven't heard any updates on Turner in awhile - not sure if there is anything about him in todays NY/NJ papers yet.

Think it was just to clear room for Christian Berglund. I haven't heard any updates on Turner in awhile - not sure if there is anything about him in todays NY/NJ papers yet.


Turner Stevenson (testicular infection) remained out.

From: h**p://www.nj.com/devils/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/107259420314300.xml